The Roxane Corollary
by martindeporres
Summary: Deciding to research the character Roxane from Cyrano De Bergerac, for an audition, Penny asks Leonard out to see a production. Will Leonard learn from Cyrano's dilemma with Roxane and write a happier ending? Set just before "The Monopolar Expedition".
1. Sorting Out

_**CYRANO: He hath an eloquent tongue in telling his love?**_

_**ROXANE: In telling his love? why, 'tis not simple telling, 'tis dissertation, 'tis analysis!**_

_**CYRANO: How is he with the pen?**_

_**ROXANE: Still better! Listen, -- here: -- [(Reciting)] 'The more of my poor heart you take **_

_**The larger grows my heart!' **_

_**[(Triumphantly to Cyrano)]**_

_**How like you those lines?**_

_**ROXANE: And thus it goes on. . .**_

_**'And, since some target I must show **_

_**For Cupid's cruel dart, **_

_**Oh, if mine own you deign to keep, **_

_**Then give me your sweet heart!' **_

_**CYRANO: Lord! First he has too much, then anon not enough! How much heart does the fellow want?**_

_**ROXANE: You would vex a saint!. . .But 'tis your jealousy.**_

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

Penny was excited yet scared all at once. She had just received a call from one of her theatre contacts that they were looking for a woman to play Roxane in a new production of _**Cyrano De Bergerac**_ at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank.

After the fiasco of _**Rent**_ and the lukewarm success of _**The Diary of Anne Frank**_, it didn't seem as though Penny would ever play any type of role ever again.

However, it was exciting news that she could audition and would be considered for the role of Roxane. As soon as she hung up the phone, she went online to research the play and the particular character she would audition for. After all, the only thing she knew about Cyrano was that it was the play about the guy with the big nose and that Greg had helped Peter with a girl he liked on the _**Brady Bunch**_.

After reading about the play and the character, she decided that maybe some actual field work by visiting local theatre companies' websites and finding out if any other local venues were undertaking the same production. It seemed like long shot because after checking out Pasadena Theatre Company as well as Glendale Center Theatre, along with the Burbank Colony Theatre, she was disappointed to learn that none of these groups were performing _**Cyrano**_ anytime within the time frame of casting call and production.

She went to check the local University Web Sites to see if any one of these would be performing a production of Cyrano before she needed to audition.

Visiting, UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, CS Fullerton, CS Long Beach, CS Los Angeles, and Pasadena City College, she finally located a small production of the play would be held at CS Northridge the following Friday at 8:00 p.m.

_Perfect! _She thought. _I can switch shifts with Kelly on Thursday and be able to attend the play!_

The only thing was the drive, although not as long as driving to UC Irvine or CS Fullerton, Northridge was still about a 20-25 mile drive one way and with Friday traffic, she knew she would have to leave about 2 hours before the show started, just in case of any accidents or other unforeseen circumstances.

Before logging off, she visited the Google Maps site to look at the driving directions to what freeways and streets she would take in order to get there. As she put her laptop away, a quandary presented itself into Penny's head.

_Who am I going to go with?! I certainly don't want to go alone in a part of town I'm not familiar with!_

At first she thought about asking Leonard, even though Leonard had acted strangely recently, asking her how the date with his friend Stuart had turned out.

_Thank God he doesn't know how it ended! Geez! That was so embarrassing!_

Then there was that strange incident when they were all having dinner at the guys' apartment the night after her date with Stuart and she asked him for the soy sauce and he responded by asking her if she was talking to him even though she was sitting right next to him and asked directly for it. Since then 5 days had passed and he had not stopped by once to say hello or to ask how she was doing. At first she was really upset with him for prying into her date results and combined with her _faux pas_ with Stuart; it was about the longest span she hadn't had contact with any of the guys since her trip to Nebraska the previous year. But then again, she had pulled later shifts at work during the past week, making her absent when Leonard and Sheldon were home while she would be asleep when they left for work in the morning.

For a moment she considered Stuart. Stuart was friendly and charming but was a bit shy in a similar manner to Leonard. Their first date had gone well until Sheldon interrupted and had torpedoed it with his incessant comic book talk. Of course, it didn't help that Stuart had jumped right into the same boat with Sheldon and pretty much ended any chance of a romantic night. When Stuart asked her out again, it was kind of a mixed bag. Penny was happy that he asked her on a second date, yet she was also apprehensive about going out with one of Leonard's friends again especially how he reacted to both of them coming out of her apartment on their way out to the art exhibit. Penny felt uncomfortable, as uncomfortable as she had felt when she had gone out with that guy, and ran into the guys coming back from the Renaissance Fair because Leonard had reacted the same way back then – quiet, aloof and although he tried hiding it, the look of someone deeply hurt.

She knew that Leonard liked her, perhaps even loved her and knew he was jealous of her dating Stuart. But he didn't act on that jealousy. Even when the David Underhill fiasco ended, Leonard had had exhibited undeniable jealousy by confronting her but had pulled up just shy of declaring his true feelings. Yet this time he hadn't even reacted close to the same way, even after two dates with Stuart.

_What's wrong with him?_ She pondered.

He didn't fight for her and she wanted that. She wanted a man that would make the effort to court her and make her feel special and consider her feelings and wishes and dreams. However, Leonard seemed to keep his true feelings for her bottled up and hidden away. She thought about all the times he was kind to her, had fixed her laptop quite a few times, and listened to what she had to say and sought out her advice from time to time. She smiled thinking about the time he invited her to play Paintball with the rest of the guys and Leslie Winkle. How in a way Leonard had defended her by shooting Sheldon after the latter had surprisingly shot her in retaliation for the sofa cushion incident. Also, he had shown that he would not take advantage of her inebriated self during her Halloween Party nearly two years ago.

Then of course, there was the infamous Salt/Shot/Lime Night when both had drank their way into a stupor stemming from Mrs. Hofstadter's visit and had ended up in bed together only to be short circuited by his big mouth and trying to rationalize that their need to have sex stemmed from emotional rejections by his mother and her father. In hindsight, though Penny thought about the fact that alcohol lowers your inhibition and brings out what you really want to do and say. When their inhibitions were down, they had both wanted each other. She pulled him in and he had willingly followed her to her bed.

It was here more than before, where she pieced together that night and replayed it over and over and started discovering how much she was missing being in his arms and kissing him and totally and uncontrollably giving herself to him

Almost at the same time she went over her second date with Stuart and how it had gone down the same path – alcoholically speaking – and ended with her calling out Leonard's name in the throes of passion with Stuart.

_Leonard!_

At that moment, she realized her growing attraction to Leonard and that her heart was beginning to long for him. She flashed back again to everything Leonard had done for her and again, none of it included manipulative actions to try and get her in the sack. After all the only reason they had ended up in bed together was because of her, not him.

_He really does care for me but does he love me? I think I do love him._

There was only one way to find out and that would be to ask him out and settle where their relationship stood once and for all.

_I will ask Leonard out! _She decided.


	2. Penny's Question

Leonard returned home from work with Sheldon. He was beat and irritable and was not looking forward to the rest of the week. Plus the fact that Sheldon droned on increasingly about the new _**Star Trek**_ movie plus trying to prod him about _**Batman – R.I.P.**_

"Sheldon, I must tell you that I am more of a _**Superman**_ guy myself!"

Sheldon quickly responded.

"And I am a _**Flash**_ guy, primarily, but that doesn't mean that I have confined myself to one superhero. No, not by any means because in a world where hundreds and hundreds of superheroes exist, combining with alternate universes that can both go forward and back as well no to mention that they can be merged back onto its parent origins, limiting oneself to one universe is not only confining, it is also – lonely."

"Actually, right now _lonely_ is looking pretty good to me, or should I say, the idea of being alone!" Leonard retorted.

"Well suit yourself, but actually I have been contemplating with an idea that the Star Trek, DC and Marvel Universes could come into a crossover cornucopia of interstellar adventures unmatched in the annals of comic book history!" Sheldon continued. "In fact!" he interjected.

"Add to this possibility a Battlestar Galactica, Hellboy, Predator and Aliens Universe expansion and the end result could result in a comic book equivalency of ecstasy and climax."

"Are you in your own comic book way, describing an orgasm?" Leonard asked incredulously.

Sheldon thought for a moment and looked away from his roommate.

"Dear God! I may have found a substitution for human coitus and sexual pleasure!"

"I seriously doubt it!" Leonard replied.

"I must follow this to a logical conclusion, Leonard. Are you willing to sit down, diagram and as well as write out mathematical formulas for these probabilities?" Sheldon enthusiastically asked.

Leonard looked at him again with a look that made him question whether Sheldon was actually of the human race or had he been dropped off by a mother ship to make observations and report back to his home planet?

_I hope they beam you up soon!_ Leonard thought.

"Why don't you call Stuart and get together with him. I'm sure you'll have a more challenging and better time." Leonard concluded half angrily.

Leonard's bitterly put his key into the locks and opened the door ahead of Sheldon. By now his euphoria of having discovered that Penny preferred him to Stuart had worn off. After nearly a week since having dinner with the guys in his and Sheldon's apartment, he had yet to see Penny. Neither had he made a move to talk to her nor had she come by to visit.

By now he was wondering if he had pushed the issue too far by inquiring how the date had gone and he wondered whether Penny had caught on to his subtle extrication of her verbal Freudian Slip with Stuart from the previous night. Again, it seemed that another opportunity to increase his standing in her eyes had vanished into thin air.

After turning on the light and dropping his briefcase, Leonard crashed face first onto the couch. Sheldon had put his case on his desk chair and turned to see Leonard sprawled out on their sofa.

"Your legs are in my spot!"

"Oh! For heaven's sake Sheldon!" Leonard cried out. "I'm tired!"

"Then the logical extension of your physical condition and statement is to seek a quick and easy solution to your predicament." Sheldon explained as he moved closer to Leonard.

"What solution is that?"

"Go to sleep in your own bed!" Sheldon declared. "And get your legs out of my spot!" he quickly followed.

As annoying as Sheldon was, he offered unarguable conclusions sometimes. He should go to bed he thought and hopefully a good night's sleep would cancel out the bad thoughts and irritable condition he had experienced not only today but the depression like state he had been residing in for the several days. He pushed himself off the couch and headed toward the bathroom before throwing himself on his bed and crashing.

"Aren't you going to stay up and go to the comic book store with us?" Sheldon queried.

"No I'm too tired! I'm going to bed!" Leonard shot back as he headed off.

The thought of augmenting what had happened last week seemed intolerable to Leonard by revisiting a location that hosted both low and high points in his relationship with Penny.

As he headed towards the bathroom a knock came from their front door.

"That must be Raj and Koothrapali!" exclaimed Sheldon.

"Have a good time, night." Leonard's voice trailed off.

Sheldon opened the door and Penny stood in the entrance way.

"Hi, Sheldon, can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure, but be forewarned, Leonard's going to sleep and I will soon be heading out to the comic book store with Raj and Howard." Sheldon shot back.

Penny's voice halted Leonard in his tracks.

_Dear God, what am I going to say to her? Should I ignore her or go back out there? What am I going to say? How about 'Hi Penny!' you idiot!_

"Ok, I'm really here to see Leonard so have a fun time at the comic book store!" Penny declared.

Closing the door behind her, Sheldon followed Penny into their living room as Leonard came back down the hallway and into Penny's view. His heart ached for her and he was so angry at himself for not having the courage to put into action his thoughts and feelings about how much he wanted to be with her.

"Hi Penny!" Leonard tried his best to put his best voice and face on for her.

"Hey Leonard!" She replied.

Although happy to see him and his voice was friendly, she noticed that his eyes were sad and seemed to have bags under them and he seemed to slouch just a bit.

_My God, he doesn't look very good, what am I going to do with you sweetie?_

"What's up?" he asked.

Before Penny could answer, Sheldon interjected.

"I thought you were heading off to go to sleep?" he asked Leonard.

_Shut up Sheldon!_

"I was, but Penny's here and I didn't want to be rude by going off without saying goodnight to her as well." Leonard responded.

"Oh, you're going to sleep now?" she asked, her heart sinking with apprehension that she wouldn't get a chance to ask him out.

"Yeah, long day, beat, need rest." Leonard replied.

_Jeez! You're sounding like a bad Tarzan movie! Stop it!_

"But it's just past 6 in the evening" she declared. She feared she might not get the chance to speak with and ask him out to go see _**Cyrano**_.

"Do you have a minute?" she asked anxiously, hoping that his desire to be with her would override his need for rest at this minute.

_You better stay here and see what she wants and don't blow it!_

"Sure, I can spare a minute or two!" he replied. Leonard walked back toward the single seat next to Sheldon's side of the sofa.

Penny was very glad to hear this and was anxious to ask him out. She reached towards Leonard's desk chair and rolled it over next to him. She sat down next to him.

Sheldon had made his way to the kitchen to make himself some dinner and watched the two out of the corner of his eye. Even though it was Sheldon's disposition to relieve himself of his hunger and for now and focus on that single task, the dynamic of Leonard's interaction with Penny now and over the previous two years, drew a strange curiosity out of him.

"So what's up?" Leonard asked her, curious as to what she wanted to discuss with him.

"Well, I got a call from one of my actor friends and she said they're going to have auditions for the role of Roxane in an upcoming production of _**Cyrano de Bergerac**_ at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank and she asked me to try out for the role!" she declared.

Leonard was happy for her. He saw the genuine joy she expressed when she spoke about acting. She looked even more beautiful when she was happy and it both excited and depressed him. He was excited to be near her and depressed because he could not convert that euphoria of his wanting to be with her into a genuine expression of declaring his feelings for her and letting Penny know, that he loved and wanted to be with her.

Penny could see that even though he did not look his best, he was happy for her yet still seemed sad.

"So anyway, I needed to do some research for the role and Cal State Northridge is doing a production next week and I'm going to go see the play before the auditions begin, you know, to help prepare for the part." She said.

"That's good! Wonderful!" he exclaimed.

_Gee it would be nice to go with her!_ Leonard thought.

"So, I wanted to ask you" she continued. "Would you like to go with me to the play?"


	3. Research

"Me?" Leonard reacted, half surprised. In an instant his depression like state seemed to vanish and lift itself off his shoulders.

Penny could see the change right away. She was happy to see him happy.

_Yes!_

"Yes, you! Who else am I going to go with that would appreciate a theatrical play especially someone who was kind enough to watch the video of my performance in _**Rent**_?"

Leonard remembered how excruciatingly awful it had been to sit through something he had wanted to avoid due to not wanting to hurt Penny's feelings. He thought sarcastically how Sheldon's obsession with the perfect lie to cover up a simple white lie resulted in the same outcome he had tried to escape from – he still had to watch Penny sing awfully and there was no way he would ever tell her one of her few faults to her face.

"That's true, that was something else!" he responded.

_Oh sweetie! Thank you for being kind and not saying that I and the play sucked!_

"So you'll go with me then?" she asked again, hoping he would say yes.

Quickly Leonard thought about how this could be the last opportunity to woo Penny. If he blew it this time he would never ever again have a shot of being with her.

_Say yes you fool!_

Penny's heart pounded harder at the thought that he may or may not agree to go.

_Please say yes, please say yes. We need to resolve this once and for all!_

"Alright then, I'll be glad to go with you!" he finally replied. His heart was pounding with excitement at the thought of being with her again. Leonard quickly thought about adding a dinner to the evening where they could talk about the play and an opportunity where he could perhaps bring his feelings out in the open with Penny.

"Great!" she almost shouted. She thought about how maybe they could even go out to eat afterwards and talk and maybe finally lay things out on the table and resolve where their relationship stood once and for all. Perhaps dinner might be a good night cap to the evening.

"Penny would you like to go out to dinner afterwards" he asked.

She was shocked to think they had both come up with the same idea. _This was freaky._

"You know, I was just thinking that. That would be great also." She replied and smiled back at Leonard.

He was so happy that his posture rose up at least another six inches.

"Really, ok then, so dinner's on me!" he added.

It was incredible! Where just a few minutes ago, it seemed there was no chance of ever being with her again, and wham! Here now was a second chance to make amends and perhaps let her know what he was thinking and yearning for in his heart.

Penny could see how Leonard's entire body language had changed from a tired and sad individual to a happy and blissful one. She could not wait for the week to go by and for them to be together.

It was at this point that Sheldon reintroduced himself into the conversation.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you are expanding your horizons Penny by planning to see a classic timeless tale of unrequited love and tragedy."

"Whoa! Whoa! Sheldon, please don't ruin it for me. I already know that it's about a man with a big nose who pines after the girl of his dreams who loves another guy and doesn't have the nerve to say it to her face, so he ends up professing his love in writing through the other guy who can't write or say his feelings to her. I saw it on the _Brady Bunch _once. Peter was Christian and Greg was Cyrano" Penny exclaimed, wanting to make sure that at least before the auditions, she didn't know how the play ended.

It once again amazed Sheldon how such a classic tale had been reduced to a simplistic corollary on 40 year old TV Sitcom.

"Once again the American Education System astounds me with its glaring failure to educate and enlighten, leaving to mass media to fill in the blanks!" Sheldon replied.

He continued: "Penny, if you must know, Cyrano De Bergerac is based on a real life Frenchman, whose name was Hector Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac who lived in the 17th Century and was a playwright who wrote novels describing journeys to the Moon and the Sun, among the earliest works of science fiction. He was a critic of the anthropocentric view of man's place in creation, as well as the social injustices of the 17th century and his works were subject to censorship at the time. He was also a soldier in the French Army fighting the Spanish in the Thirty Years War, specifically at the Siege of Arras in Northeastern France. Roxane, the character you are seeking to portray is based on his real life cousin who in fact lived in the Convent of the Daughter of the Cross, and became married to one of his wartime colleagues, contrary to the popular notion that Cyrano wrote the love letters and put the words into the mouth of the Baron Christian de Neuvillette, who in the play is in love with Roxane but has not the courage to declare his feelings for her."

Both Leonard and Penny remained staring at Sheldon with their mouths open after another one of his accurate yet rambling dissertations.

"Well, then, my research is done!" Penny exclaimed, figuring she didn't need to after Sheldon's rant. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow and for sure next Friday for our play and dinner date!" she concluded and rose up to walk to the front door. Leonard quickly did the same, following and walking her to the door.

"Great, then I'll probably see you tomorrow and it's a date!" he echoed her statement and followed up with a "Good night Penny!"

"Good night Leonard! Sheldon."

"Good night Roxane" Sheldon replied with an attempt at humor. _Bazinga!_

Penny decided it better to let it lie and head on her merry way back to her place. She smiled at Leonard and then turned to walk away.

Leonard smiled back and closed the door and stood for a moment to listen as Penny's footsteps made their way to her apartment as she closed the door behind her.

_Date? Can it really be a date after almost a year since we went out? Is she falling for me?_

He couldn't wait for next Friday to arrive and be with Penny once again. He looked at Sheldon who was looking directly at him as though he was a scientist observing an experiment in a laboratory.

"Before I go to my room, is there something you want to comment on, Dr. Cooper?"

"Yes, don't blow your chance with Penny this time!" Sheldon retorted. "I don't want a cat!"

He remembered how close he had come to having feline companionship the first time Leonard was depressed at not having Penny for a girlfriend. Sheldon certainly did not want to go through that again.

Leonard was surprised at his roommate's declaration. Maybe he finally saw his point of view in this whole relationship dance with Penny.

"Thanks for being there for me." Leonard said graciously.

"I'm not". Sheldon replied. "I just really, really don't want to have a cat!" he concluded, hoping to drive home the point.

Leonard frowned at Sheldon's comment as he headed for his room and sleep.

In her apartment, Penny sat down and grabbed one of her sofa pillows and hugged it as she sat cross-legged on her couch. She brought down her face so that her nose made an indentation on the top of the pillow. She sighed and said: "I hope we don't blow it this time."


	4. Preparations

Anticipation makes time drag slowly almost bringing it to a standstill.

And so it was for one Leonard Hofstadter. After two days, he felt as though two months had passed. Sure, he spent the time with the guys, Thai Food night, Sheldon's Barbecue Burger Night at the Cheesecake factory that Penny worked at. Leonard was both relieved and sad that Penny wasn't there, having worked the night before.

Finally Halo Night arrived and as always he enjoyed playing until his eyes screamed for sleep.

Although he had run into Penny at the Apartment's Laundry Room downstairs and had exchanged a few pleasantries and all was well, he didn't want to ruin their upcoming date night by saying something inappropriate that would cripple their upcoming get together.

Thursday was a little better and he looked forward to playing Rock Band that evening with his colleagues and friends.

Friday, though, was excruciating. As hard as he tried his eyes would make their way to the wall clock, his watch, cell phone clock or the computer's clock. An hour felt like a week. At lunch, he had barely spoken to the Wolowitz, Raj or Sheldon lost in thoughts about how the evening would go with Penny. Would it end with a hug only? A kiss and a hug? A handshake? Would they just say good night and go to their separate apartments? Would they end up in bed together? Or would they end up taking two steps back like last year?

_I can't let it end the same way._ He thought. _It can't go to being worse. I've got an opportunity here to declare how I truly feel about her. She is giving me the opportunity. Didn't she say your name while she was making out with Stuart? Didn't she ask you out? What in heaven's name are you waiting for?! It's now or never. You've got to let her know how you feel and think about her once and for all. Roll the dice and deal with the consequences._

For Penny, time was dragging on Friday. The whole week for her had flown by up until the day of her date with Leonard. Taking the day off on Friday instead of Thursday seemed to have been a mistake because as much as she tried keeping busy around her apartment, this day just seemed to crawl. Perhaps if she painted one of her walls and watched the paint dry, it would speed up the earth's rotation.

Finally, the afternoon came around and Penny went into a routine of making herself especially attractive. A relaxing bath, with special scented body wash. She picked out a very sexy bra and panties set. She adorned herself with a tantalizing perfume and body lotion, chose out a sexy top and blouse with a knee length skirt. By 5:30 she was ready to go and in a half an hour, she would knock on Leonard's door and they would depart.

For Leonard, after lunch was just less than useless. He left early and made sure that Raj would take Sheldon home. After overcoming Sheldon's objections about his early departure, Leonard countered with the threat of cat in their apartment if he didn't allow him to leave now. Within minutes he left the university and work behind.

Arriving home at 2:30, he decided to lie down and sleep for a while. He reset his alarm to wake him up at 3:30 and that would hive him about two hours to get ready for Penny.

His slumber was rocked asunder when the alarm blared and it seemed he had slept all night. He checked his watch to make sure it was 3:30, Friday afternoon and not the next day. His watch read 3:31 p.m. but just to make extra sure; he went to his laptop and checked the time and date to be absolutely positive it was still Friday.

_Thank God! I didn't miss our date. What a horrible feeling if I had missed being with Penny._

Heading towards the bathroom, he showered and shaved. Afterwards, he got dressed and put on some cologne, making sure that it was only a little and not so much that Police's Hazmat Team would break their apartment door down. Putting on his blazer over his long sleeve buttoned down shirt and navy blue pants, he looked in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable.

_Well, I'm no hunk but she seems to like me for more than my less than stellar good looks._

He took off his blazer to make sure he wasn't soaked to the bone with perspiration as he had been the first time he had ever gone out with Penny. After noticing he was still dry and wouldn't require a second shower and change of clothes. He let out a deep breath, to think he had made some progress in his dating preparation skills from just less than two years.

Looking at his watch, it was now 5:00, an hour left to go before Penny and he were to leave for the play. So as to not let the hour drag, he went to his computer and went online, looked up the location for Cal State Northridge, plotted the route and printed out the directions to make sure that if they got lost, they could quickly get back on track and arrive in time.

Next, he searched for nearby restaurants that they could go to after the play. Luckily, there were dozens of restaurants: Acapulco, Johnny Rockets, Chili's, was among the few that interested him. He would mention them to Penny and see which one she would like to go to. Finally, after gathering all his information together, he checked his watch one more time: 5:45 p.m.

_Ok we're into the home stretch!_

Suddenly, the stillness of the apartment was broken by the gentle knocking coming from the apartment front door.

_If that's Penny, she's early!_

Penny decided that at 5:40 she had done everything possible to be ready. She decided to gamble and take a chance that Leonard would already be set to go. So she grabbed her purse and her light jacket and opened her door. Locking it behind her she walked across the hallway and knocked on the boys' apartment door. She anxiously waited for him to open the door.

_I hope he's ready. Let's do this!_

Leonard reached for the door and opened it. Before him stood in his eyes, a goddess!

His heart raced and he swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and let out a slow exhaling blow.

"Wow, Penny! You look very, very pre-, beautiful and radiant!" he exclaimed. "You're a vision of loveliness!" he added.

_Don't over do it Leonard._ He thought to himself.

"Thanks sweetie!" Penny gushed. For her, his compliments were a testament to some progress on his behalf that he was willing to open up a bit more when she was around. He looked handsome to her in his shirt and slacks. She took in a deep breath to make sure she was still breathing. Her heart pounded with anticipation of this evening.

"You look very good too! Are you ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yep! All ready. Let me just get my jacket and shut down my laptop." He responded.

After taking care of his laptop, he donned his jacket and headed back towards Penny.

"Ok, let's go!" he declared. Locking the door behind him, he turned to her.

"By the way, you smell extremely nice." He added. Leonard wanted to make sure he said all the right things and not blow it.

"Thanks! You smell very nice too, by the way." She stated.

It was a good start as they headed down the stairs towards the lobby and out to Penny's car.

_I think this is going to go very well! _They both thought.


	5. Getting There

On the way to the play, Leonard brought out the sheets he had printed the map and directions in case they needed them.

"What do you have there?" Penny asked.

"Oh, I just printed the directions in case we needed them. Do you know how to get there?" Leonard asked back.

"Well if my memory serves me right, probably the best way is to take the 210 or the 2 to from the Ventura Freeway, the 210 west and then take the 118 west from there. Am I right?" Penny questioned.

"Good memory!" Leonard exulted. "But since we already missed the 210 exit and this traffic looks slow, better take the 2 Freeway north and then connect with the 210 there and head on out west." He read off the map.

"Okay, you got it!"

Traffic heading west with the sun setting just made it go slower. Finally, reaching the 2 north, they took the off ramp and headed into busy, yet lighter traffic. Their speed increased substantially that it looked like now they would make better time.

"Well it took us about a half an hour plus to get just into Glendale." Leonard exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's incredible how many people are on the road, every day, but especially on a Friday. You know, where I come from, you don't see this much traffic in a year, only big cities like Lincoln or Omaha would you see something comparable." Penny explained.

"Yeah, you don't see this much traffic in New Jersey, either, except of course for the big cities." Leonard responded.

As the anxiety of traffic slowing them down was now greatly lessened, and the traffic was flowing at a good fast pace, once they were on the 210 Freeway, heading west. They could sit back and relax and not worry for a while.

"Okay, it looks like smooth sailing all the way to the 118." Leonard exclaimed. "By the way, there are some good restaurants nearby for after the play. Acapulco's, Chili's, Johnny Rockets, about a block to half a mile a way. There's even an Outback, a couple of miles up the road from the University if you want to go that far. What are you in the mood for?" Leonard asked her.

"Well, how about Chili's? I went to one when I first came out from Nebraska and haven't been back since. I like their food." Penny stated.

"Okay then, Chili's it is and according to this map it's about a block up and a block down from the parking lot we'll be leaving the car in." Leonard explained.

"Great, we are on our way!" Penny exclaimed.

Once they reached the 118, the traffic lightened a bit and they were able to make their way West. Although they ran into some congestion after the San Diego Freeway, they took their exit ramp at Reseda and headed south into Northridge.

Traffic was a bit heavy, but since they didn't know if the alternate routes would be any better, they stuck to Reseda Blvd. Once they came to Nordhoff, they turned left, the next street they turned left again and into the parking lot on the right.

"Good job!" Leonard stated.

"Thanks again and good job with the navigation!" Penny responded.

Due to their preoccupation with getting to the show in time, they hadn't had much time to discuss anything but the traffic and streets they would have to navigate to get to the campus.

As they closed and locked the car's doors, they headed towards the small Theatre where the play would be held.

"Oh, wait!" Penny shouted before they had taken 10 steps.

"What's the matter?" Leonard asked with a slight concern that there would be a hitch in this so far perfect evening.

"I almost forgot," Penny continued. "I've got to get a parking pass at one of these machines so I don't get a ticket."

"A pass for two to three hours of parking?" Leonard asked amazed. "This isn't a rock concert or a sporting event; the parking lot shouldn't be packed!"

"Yeah, well you know how Universities are, right?" Penny asked rhetorically.

"I heard that" Leonard replied being an employee of one himself.

After taking care of the pass and putting it on the car's dashboard, they headed toward the theatre. Once inside they made their way to the ticket booth. A young lady at the window greeted them politely and with a bright smile.

"Hello!" she greeted Penny.

"Hi there! Two tickets, please; under Penny" she replied.

After checking her list. She handed Penny the two tickets she had prepaid for on the internet. "Enjoy your show!" the ticket office attendant said.

"Thanks!" Penny smiled back as she replied.

Leonard checked his watch. "Just past 7:15, plenty of time." He stated.

Penny walked over to the display booth in between the two entrance doors showing pictures, props and some costumes for the upcoming play. Leonard went over to the young man who was preparing to hand out the play's program to the audience.

Having picked up the programs, they both reviewed it, looking over the actors who would be playing on the bill. Then, Leonard noticed an open court yard on the opposite side of where they came in and asked Penny, "Would you like to step outside and enjoy the evening air?"

"Sure!" she replied.

Outside a nice cool breeze stirred the trees and Leonard looked up into the clear sky that was starting to grow dark as it neared 7:30 in the evening.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" he asked.

"Mmm!" Penny replied. "It's quite lovely".

She and the evening were lovely. He looked at her and how tremendously beautiful she looked in the fading daylight. It would be a real shame to not have this repeated countless times in the future with her and to Leonard it was very important that he not let this chance slip away. At some point tonight he would have to tell Penny once and for all how he felt about her. How scared he felt though at the possibility of an answer that would cancel all the dreams and hopes he had about Penny, and at the same time he thought about how this evening was Penny's idea and that he was standing here with her because of her. She had asked him and probably nobody else had even come close to having a chance at being here instead of him. It was this competing idea that gave Leonard some solace that perhaps their relationship after tonight could be one forever.

Penny looked at Leonard and saw how more confident and assertive he looked, yet he did not speak more than he seemed to have need to. She thought about how he never put himself ahead of her, how he was always willing to help her and those qualities is what she found so appealing and attractive. She knew that men always threw themselves at her because of her looks; there was never a lack of that. However, she knew that Leonard had never experienced that whatsoever. His mother had never bestowed affection on him and never would. The few women he had gone out with for any length of time were domineering and suffocating to the point, Leonard was forced to escape them. She knew that she was the object of his affection and he was hers but because they were both afraid to get hurt at the small possibility that they would say no to each other, they were hesitant to cross the threshold and declare their true feelings for each other.

Before the night was out, that threshold needed to be crossed.

"Penny?" Leonard asked.

"Yes Leonard" she replied.

"Thank you for inviting me. You know I haven't been to a play since High School?" he said.

"Really? Why not?" she asked kind of incredulously.

"Always working or studying or playing video games or collecting comic books or going to the movies, where would I have found the time?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, tonight is a change of pace for you. You'll enjoy it." Penny explained.

"I'm sure I will. I like it already" He stated with an obvious inflection on being with her here for a moment alone.

After a few more minutes, it was time to go in. They made their way into the theatre and found their seats. They were in the middle of the row about 7 rows from the front. The stage was about 4-5 feet high and it seemed as though the theatre could seat a couple of hundred people at the very least.

Sitting next to each other, was nice. Leonard could smell the sweet scent of Penny's body lotion and the fruit smell of her shampoo. It was intoxicating but he made no motion to press his shoulder next to her or to even attempt contact. He just stayed put in his seat waiting for the show to start.

Penny for her part saw that he had stiffened up a bit, as though he was nervous and afraid to touch her lest he make a mistake and offend her. Penny thought how cute and how so Leonard this was.

_I think I better get this evening back on track and make sure he's relaxed._

Penny slid her left hand under the upper part of his right arm, placing it on his lower right forearm and leaning over she whispered in his ear: "Relax sweetie, and enjoy the show."

"I'm relaxed!" he whispered and shuddered at her touch even through the shirt and jacket layers.

Her touch felt so right. His shyness endeared him even more to him.

Just past 8:00, the theatre's lights dimmed, the dozens of conversations ceased. The show began.


	6. Cyrano's Lair

**WARNING!! CYRANO DE BERGERAC SPOILER ALERT!!**

As the play began, Leonard and Penny along with the surrounding audience were quickly introduced to the main characters that the production would center around.

First, there was Christian de Neuvillette, a new cadet with the Cadets of Castogne, who is hopelessly in love yet tongue tied in confessing his affections to the female lead Roxane, the distant cousin of the show's title character, Cyrano de Bergerac who is also in love with Roxane and also the captain of the military unit that Christian is assigned to, but knows he will never win her affection due to his unusually large nose.

Cyrano, a poet, displays brashness and untamed passion for the things he believes in and is definitely not shy about expressing them to everyone around him; chases off the pompous overblown actor Montfleury of the opening play within a play, Clorise. In doing so he challenges the entire audience to dare stop him from banishing Montfleury, when no one does and his banishment completed successfully, he is at the last minute challenged to a duel by Viscount Valvert. The latter has been promised Roxane's hand in marriage by a scheming Count De Guiche. In the duel, Cyrano composes a ballad of all the put downs about his nose that could have been uttered by the Valvert but did not have the mental capacity to execute. In the end, Cyrano's duel with Valvert ends with the latter's death. These actions and his later duel with 100 assassins attempting to murder a fellow poet, Lignière, are examples of Cyrano's panache.

From here on the play centers on Cyrano's attempt to woo Roxane, who in confidence has expressed her love of Christian to Cyrano and has asked for his protection of the new cadet. Cyrano, who will not cause Roxane sadness, sacrifices his own chance at happiness with her and agrees to befriend Christian. From then on, Cyrano tries to persuade Christian the need to woo and win Roxane's heart by composing poetry, to which Christian expresses his exasperation at not being able to even compose poetry because his verbal inadequacies extend even to the written page. From this point on Cyrano composes romantic letters, sending them to Roxane in Christian's name in preparation for a fateful meeting where he can finally win the heart of his lady love.

This leads to the famous scene where Christian arrives at Roxane's house to verbally profess his love for her which ends in disaster as his inability to utter one romantic word sends her back in to her house in disgust; only to be saved by Cyrano's portrayal of Christian by hiding in the bushes and calling out to Roxane with his eloquent and romantic words. Eventually, Christian remerges and receives a kiss leading to their marriage. However, their new found happiness is short lived as both Cyrano and Christian are ordered to the front to battle the Spanish Army. Once at the front their unit has been cut off by the Spanish but has not prevented Cyrano from sending more letters to Roxane in Christian's name each day.

However, the deception is put to the test as Roxane has flirted her way through the enemy lines and reached the French Cadets with food and water. Quickly realizing what must be done, Cyrano confesses to Christian he has written letters in his name and hands him a farewell letter to give to Roxane should he die. Roxane's love has grown to the point where she tells Christian that she has come to know his very soul and would love him even if he was ugly. Christian then tells Cyrano this and pleads for him to come clean and admit to Roxane because it is Cyrano's soul she loves and he would prefer being loved for the fool that he is to be truly loved at all. At first disbelieving Christian, Cyrano is then told the very same thing by Roxane but before he can reveal the truth, Christian is fatally shot and his body is brought to the feet of Roxane, who collapses in tears on his body. A short time later she removes the bloodstained farewell letter Cyrano wrote for Christian to give to her. Realizing he cannot have Christian's image be destroyed in the eyes of Roxane, he decides not to tell her that he was the composer of all the letters. Then Cyrano rallies the cadets and fends off a Spanish charge, mustering a break through to the French forces that had been sent to rescue them.

The play then concludes 14 years later in which Roxane has moved into a nunnery, mourning Christian forever and Cyrano calling on her frequently to bring her news of the outside world. While waiting for him one day, Cyrano, who has made many enemies during his life, is mortally wounded during a murder attempt, yet manages to reach her. Here with last breaths, he asks her if he can read Christian's farewell letter. In doing so, she recognizes Cyrano's voice and her suspicion of his love for her is confirmed due to the fact that he can recite the letter even after it has grown too dark to read. She says to him that it was him, although he denies it, she continues pressing him for a confession.

Just before dying, Cyrano lashes out a final time against all his enemies, real and imagined. Falling into her arms, she tells him that she loves him and he looks up at her, smiling, admitting the only thing he will take to heaven is his panache.

As the audience cheers and applauds while the actors come out to take their bows and the lights are brought back up. Leonard realizes that Penny has held on to his arm through the whole play, turns to her and sees that she is crying.

"That is so sad!" she exclaims as she reaches in her purse and wipes away the tears from her face.

"Why didn't he tell her that he loved her from the beginning?" She asked.

"Because there probably wouldn't be a play at all" he explained.

Penny gave him a puzzled look. Leonard quickly figured he may have said the wrong thing and attempted to back track.

"Well, maybe not that there wouldn't be a play, but it would have turned out a lot different", he quickly stated trying to bring back the good vibes from earlier in the evening.

"How do you mean?" she asked again.

_Oh boy! How do I explain this without putting my foot in my mouth? _

"Well because the whole dynamic of the play is the tension between Cyrano and Roxane and the fact that you're pulling for them to be together but yet they can't because she loves Christian and he loves her. If he wins Roxane's heart right away, where does the play go from there? It certainly would have forced the author to come up with a totally different tension to drive the story through its conclusion and perhaps the climax and the closing would have been less well received by audiences. Will they end up together or won't they is forefront in the audiences' psyche throughout the whole story. Obviously the way it was written has made it a popular enough to be still produced in plays and in movies more than a hundred years after its writing." Leonard explained.

By this time, they had both moved out of the auditorium, through the lobby and out into the walkway leading to the parking lot.

"So what you're saying is that because they cannot be together until the end, if only for a few moments, this is what the underlying driving force of the story is and keeps the audience glued to their seats? Am I right?" she asked hoping that she had understood his take of the play.

"Yes, that is correct!" Leonard stated, relieved that his explanation had been understood by Penny and that he had not driven a stake into the heart of their evening.

"So how do you see Roxane? What to you is her motivation, her reason for being?" Leonard followed up.

"Well my guess is that at first she liked him – Christian I mean - for his good looks but beneath that she wanted to have someone who could light up her soul and make her feel wanted not just for her face and body but to be appreciated and made to be felt – alive!" she explained.

"She definitely has these desires made even higher when she gets these love letters from who she believes to be Christian but they're really from Cyrano!" she continued.

"Then as she gets more and more of them, she now in turn makes the leap from loving the physical to loving the soul where it doesn't matter anymore whether the author is handsome or ugly."

Leonard studied Penny closely as she continued her interpretation of the Roxane character. As she explained, he was amazed at how her interpretation and thought provoking review of character she was researching revealed how perceptive and intelligent she was.

_How much more than a pretty face are you?_ He pondered. _I definitely and truly love you!_

"And when she finally realizes that it was Cyrano who had confessed his love for her from the beginning, she doesn't get angry but confesses her love in return, even though they can never be together beyond these few seconds because he dies!" she concluded.

"Penny, I think that's as good a summation as I have ever heard." He complimented her.

"I think you're on your way to nailing that audition and getting the part" He followed.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you." She replied.

"You're welcome." He said.

By this point they arrived at the car, they got in and Penny turned the ignition on. They were both very hungry and looking forward to having a nice dinner.

"Ok, so how do we get to the restaurant?" Penny asked.

"Oh, hold on!" Leonard exclaimed as he picked up the papers showing the map of the restaurants nearby. Turning on the overhead car light, he studied the map and looked at the parking lot.

"Looks like you exit here since and you can only go to the right." He stated.

"Then go to the light and turn right and it looks like you go back to Reseda, make a right there and go up one block and Chili's is on the right." He explained.

"Ok, here we go!" she exclaimed. Within a few minutes they were in a new parking lot and walking towards the entrance of the restaurant.


	7. Dinner and a Show

Leonard opened the door for Penny; as they entered the lobby there was only one other couple that was waiting for a table sitting in the booth waiting area.

"This looks pretty good." Penny stated, I don't think we'll have to wait too long."

They made their way to the podium where a young man greeted them.

"Good evening!" he started, "Welcome to Chili's, how many, please?"

"Just us two!" Leonard replied.

"Could I please have your name?" the greeter asked them.

"Leonard."

"Okay, it will just be a few minutes, please have seat. We'll call you." The greeter concluded.

"Thank you." They both replied almost in unison.

Leonard and Penny sat down on at the other end of the seat of the booth waiting area. While they were waiting, she decided to ask him his thoughts on the two male characters from the play. She turned and smiled at Leonard.

"So, now I get to ask you, what do you think was the motivation behind Christian and Cyrano?"

Sort of caught off guard, he leaned his head back and thought about it for a moment.

"Well for me," he began, "Christian and Cyrano was the same person split into two entities."

"How do you mean?" again a puzzled look came over Penny's face.

"Well, Christian loved her but couldn't convey his feelings orally, while Cyrano, also loved her, could communicate with her but could not tell her he loved her only through writing. If they were molded into one person, he would have won her with his pen or quill, if you will, and then have been able to tell her he loved her." Leonard concluded.

"But both of them couldn't tell her that they loved her." She countered.

"No, that's not entirely true. Remember the courtyard scene. He told her he loved her and that was all he could say. He couldn't adorn it or embellish it. Remember?" Leonard reminded Penny.

"That's about all he could say." He continued: "Comparing her to the moon or a beautiful flowing river or exalting her beauty above all other beautiful things on earth, a beauty that would stop his heart in its tracks every time he laid eyes upon her, was just beyond his reach to put into words."

Leonard paused to consider what he had said. He grew sad that he could not tell her how he felt as Cyrano had eloquently spoken to Roxane. Although all the words orbited his brain yet he couldn't pull them down into his neurons to fire off the words to convey them to Penny.

Penny reflected for a moment what Leonard had said and wondered how much of the dilemma that afflicted these two male characters in a play he had concluded applied to him. She decided to press on a little further.

"So who would you say you were more like, Cyrano or Christian?" she asked.

_Is this a trick question?_ _Is she trying to draw out my feelings for her?_ He decided to answer in a way that wouldn't reveal his inner most thoughts about her, not just yet.

"I would have to say, I would consider myself a little of both." He answered.

"Why?" Penny pressed for a more definitive answer. She wanted to draw him out to see how far he would go and then she could meet him there.

"Beca-, because, like Cyrano, I share physical drawbacks with him." Leonard was starting to feel very exposed and he didn't seem to realize when he had come to this position. He felt like a banana being slowly peeled away to reveal the fruit underneath.

"_Chuck, party of two, Chuck, party of two!"_ called the greeter as the couple stood up and followed him to their booth.

"It shouldn't be long now, we're next!" Penny stated the obvious.

"Go on." She urged him.

"Well, like I said, Cyrano and I are similar in that he had a big nose and I have these thick rimmed glasses, I'm short and I'm not very articulate with women. That would be trait I would share with Christian!" Leonard concluded.

Penny inquired and stated while feeling her heart racing faster: "Leonard sweetie, you're much more than your glasses and your height."

"I am?" he asked more curious than usual.

"You're kind and sweet, helping me out with my laptop, listening to me when I have problems, asking me to play Halo and paintball. You're always there for me. Well, almost always, except for when that ditzy, skanky blonde moved into the apartment above you and Sheldon, but I forgive you."

"Please don't make me feel guiltier than I already do regarding her. It won't happen again." Leonard replied, thinking about how he had ignored Penny because of another pretty face.

"Thank you for the compliments though." He added.

"Of course, listen; remember when you came into my apartment to confront me about David Underhill?" She queried.

Leonard thought about that Christmas when he had almost lost Penny to a colleague of higher intelligence in his eyes. If it wasn't for David's lechery and bonehead move of keeping naked pictures of his wife on his cell phone, he probably would have scored with Penny.

"Yes, I remember, although I care not to." He responded.

Penny came closer to him, so close in fact that she was close enough that if he just turned his head he could kiss her without much effort.

"Like I asked you that night, why were you so jealous. Are you still - jealous?" Penny asked hoping to finally get the response she was looking for. She looked at him with a determined look of seduction yet pleading for a response from the man that she loved.

Leonard could feel his palms begin to sweat and his chest tighten, his stomach start churning and tying into knots.

Leonard looked at Penny, looked at his hands and looked back at Penny. "Because, I," his answer was cut short by the greeter.

"_Leonard party of two!" he called out._

"That's us!" Leonard called out, quickly changing the subject.

Penny stood up disappointed that on the cusp of his response, they had been interrupted.

_Damn it!_

Leonard was glad to be relieved of the moment of truth. Yet he wanted to also get it over with and see where a confession would lead him and Penny towards.

They made their way to the booth and sat down. The greeter handed them their menus and wished them a good meal and a good evening.

They both looked over the beverage section seeing that it would probably be a good idea to get some alcohol to calm their nerves. However, Leonard reconsidered because he did not want this to be another evening like the one the night of his mother's visit. If anything was going to happen it would happen with a clear head, so he asked Penny what she was going to have.

"I think I'm going to have a Presidente Margarita. That sounds very good." She replied.

He decided to make his play.

"Penny, I think it would be better if we ordered non-alcoholic drinks." He stated.

"Why?" she asked.

"I want to have a clear head for what I have to say to you." He replied and as he built up his courage to what he wanted to finally say. His mouth grew dry and he could feel his heart thundering so loudly he could feel the blood pressure in his ears and temples.

Penny sensed that the moment had finally come, she braced herself. Her heart was beating fast too and she was intensely focused on Leonard's face.

"Penny, I…"

"_Good evening my name is Leslie and I'll be your server. How are you two doing tonight?"_ A perky young thin waitress with blue eyes and red hair stared down at them.

"Great!" Leonard stated half sarcastically and half truthfully not wanting to be rude.

_I swear if doesn't seem like I'll ever be able to say that I love Penny!_

"We're good, thank you." Penny added.

"Can I start you off with some beverages and some appetizers?" Leslie asked.

"Um, yes for me a glass of water and a root beer, for the lady…" Leonard gestured over to Penny.

Penny looked over her beverages page on the menu.

"I will have a strawberry lemonade." She declared. She also heeded Leonard's advice of not ordering alcohol. He had a very valid point and she too did not want a repeat of the night they ended up in bed together but for the wrong reasons.

"Any appetizers?"

They both went over the page where the starters were listed.

"I think we're going to wait on that and let you know when you bring our drinks. Is that okay with you?" Leonard asked Penny.

"Yeah, that's good. We'll look it over and let you know." Penny added.

"Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks." Leslie stated and left.

"Penny before we're interrupted again, I want to say something."

"Yes, Leonard, what is it?" she asked anticipating.

"Penny, the reason why I was so jealous over David is because…" He then noticed Penny's eyes widen it seemed as though she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh my god, Kurt!" she declared as she tried to avert his gaze by turning her head away.

_Great! I haven't even got as far as Stuart and she calls out the name of her old boyfriend._

"Hey, Penny, what's up?" Kurt's voice came from behind Leonard. He slowly came into view of both of them as he towered over their booth.

Leonard could feel his whole demeanor change from one of nervousness to one of sheer dejection and obvious frustration, mixed with anger. There were few things in this life that Leonard hated. However, the only person he had genuine loathing for was this obtuse minded, flat headed, muscle bound, bullying and inarticulate waste of human cells known as Kurt.

"Nothing much, just having dinner." She replied curtly.

"How come you haven't called me?" he asked.

"Been busy." She continued. She wanted to cut this conversation off quickly. She looked over to Leonard and could see a clear scowl on his face. Whereas three seconds ago he was about to tell her how he felt, now he was angry and closed off. The evening that was going so well was on the verge into turning ugly.

"Busy having dinner with your leprechaun friend here." He snickered.

Leonard looked up; he had had it with this mountain of a moron.

"Leprechaun? Leprechaun?! Are you incapable of even remembering one of your own put downs you moron!" Leonard's voice volume climbed up a notch.

_Oh my dear God! This needs to stop._ Penny thought nervously.

"You called me an elf after I had explained to you that I was dressed like a hobbit. Of course to you an illiterate, granite headed, bullying, poor excuse for a human being both long term and short term memory retention a near impossibility." Leonard continued.

"You better shut your face, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Penny."

Leonard stood up. "Oh! I see you can talk crap about me but I don't have the right to respond and defend myself from an obvious derogatory statement?"

"I said you need to sit down, little man!" Kurt towered over Leonard.

The other patrons' eyes were now turned on these two unevenly matched foes. Penny didn't know exactly what to do. She was terrified that Leonard would suffer a terrible injury.

"Leonard, please sit down." She pleaded knowing that this wasn't going to end good for Leonard.

"No, I will not." He answered her. "When are you going to stop giving this senseless bully the time of day?"

Penny was stunned at his rebuttal and accusation. She could see he was incensed. He turned again to face Kurt.

"That's all you are Kurt. You're a bully and moron who took advantage of Penny's love and devotion to you and threw it away without a second thought. In fact I don't think you could have given it a first thought because all you're good for is processing oxygen into carbon dioxide, consuming food and expelling waste!"

"I said sit down little man!" Kurt grabbed Leonard's jacket and shoved him into the booth. The table caught Leonard on the hip and his head hit the window behind him shaking his glasses loose. Several other people in the nearby booths gasped at the sight, some stating: "Oh my God!" others stated "Oh no!"

"Stay down little man or you'll get worse." Kurt declared ominously, pointing his finger at Leonard.

Leonard's head hurt with a feeling of bees buzzing in his brain. He grabbed for his glasses and as shook up as he was, he knew that as disadvantaged he would be in a physical fight he was going to die with his boots on. He readied to get up and inflict some sort of damage on this behemoth.

"KURT! GODDAMN IT!" Penny exploded, taking Leonard completely off guard. Now the whole restaurant was transfixed by this confrontational scene.

"Where the hell do you get off attacking my date?" She had stood up and put her face up on his chest and severely poked her index finger square in the middle of his chest.

"You know why I didn't call you. Because I'm over you Kurt! I'm over you! You never loved me or cared for me! I was just a prize trophy for you. You need to get out of my face and get the hell out of here! If I never see you again it will be too soon. GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Penny screamed.

"Sir, you need to leave!" One of the employees said to Kurt. He was the Restaurant's manager.

"And if I don't four eyes! What are you going to do? I'm a paying customer." Kurt bellowed.

"Who just happened to attack another paying customer." The manager countered. "You need to leave or I'll call the police."

Before Kurt could reply, two other men that Penny recognized from the time she was with Kurt came up behind him. She couldn't tell at first if they were going to join in on Kurt's defiance or talk him it out of it.

"Kurt, let's go man, we don't need this" one of the guys named Rick pleaded with his friend.

"I think that would be a wise choice, Kurt." A voice from behind the three men announced its presence, which no one recognized.

"Who the hell are you?" Kurt asked.

"Sergeant Reed, LAPD." The man stated. He was wearing plain clothes. "I'm off duty tonight having dinner with my wife and you need to take a walk and leave these good people alone and let all of us get back to having a nice dinner! You got me, buddy!"

"And if I don't?" Kurt asked again.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to arrest you for assault, battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting a Police Officer. All those things combined will get you some serious jail time."

Confronted with prospect of jail time, Kurt looked back at Penny then at Leonard, he kind of half glanced around the room and decided that it wasn't worth the effort to try and get Penny back.

"Let's get out of here guys!" Kurt ordered his friends to leave with him.

"And if anything happens to these two people, you'll be the first one I'm going to come after." You hear that Kurt?" the sergeant emphasized his name.

Not responding to the officer, he turned to go, Kurt took one last parting shot at Penny.

"You were never any good in bed. You were a lousy lay." He stated. Some people close enough to hear gasped.

"Look at what I had to work with, dick for brains!" she quickly replied. At this some people cheered at Penny's retort. Kurt and his friends walked down the aisle and out the door.

Leonard stood next to Penny and she sort of collapsed on him and hugged him hard.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My head and hip hurt though. How are you?" Leonard asked back.

"I'm shaking all over. I've never been so angry in my life!" she added. Then she noticed their waitress, Leslie standing over them with a bag of ice in her hand.

"Here you go sir, please put this on your head." She pleaded.

"Thank you." Leonard replied, placing the bag on the bag of his head. Penny sat next to him and the booth and put her head next to his and her arm around his shoulder.

The restaurant manager and the Police Sergeant came over next.

"I'm very sorry about what happened tonight. First of all, is there anything else I can help you with, should I call an ambulance or do you need any first aid?"

"No, I don't think so. I think the ice will do for now." Leonard responded.

"Well again, I apologize for bad experience at our restaurant. I'm Terry Richardson, the Restaurant Manager and your meal tonight is on us!"

"Oh, no, Terry, it wasn't your fault." Penny explained. "We had no idea that that moron of an ex-boyfriend would be here. We all live in Pasadena and it just a dumb stroke of luck that he happened to be here when we were."

"I won't hear of it. Your dinner is on us." Terry responded.

"Well, thank you! That's very nice of you." Both Leonard and Penny gratefully acknowledged.

Next, the LAPD Sergeant came up to both of them and asked them a few questions. A man in what seemed in his mid-thirties, Sgt. Reed gave asked Penny and Leonard if they wanted to press any charges. Penny declined stating that she would prefer never to see Kurt again. However, the sergeant asked for information regarding Kurt, if he had ever been in trouble with the law. Penny told him he had been arrested by Pasadena PD for urinating on a cop car while intoxicated about 3 or 4 years ago.

"Well, that record will be on our files and with your information, if he ever does anything to you guys, he'll pay."

"That's kind of small comfort, sergeant, that you can't touch him unless he's already done something to us." Leonard stated.

"Well, unfortunately, that's the way the law is. You can't arrest someone on their intentions. Just on their actions." He responded. Then he proceeded to give them his business card.

"If there's anything I can do for you. Please, give me a call. You both have a good dinner and a safe night." Sergeant Reed concluded.

"Thanks again, Sergeant!" Penny responded. With that the sergeant walked back to his wife rejoining her in their booth.


	8. Aftermath

Leonard and Penny looked at each other with a look of bewilderment at what had transpired and it was nearly 11:00 p.m. when Leonard looked down at his watch. Their drinks arrived with Leslie placing them on the table. They slowly drank their beverages and barely had anything to say. Leonard felt insignificant that he had not done more to stand up to Kurt.

Finally, he said to Penny: "I'm sorry I didn't defend you better."

"Sweetie, you were great. It was like David versus Goliath. You did very well."

"Unfortunately I forgot my sling shot!" Leonard responded. Both Penny and he laughed at his comment.

"Those were very strong and accurate words you said to Kurt." Penny exclaimed. She was touched and amazed at the words he had attacked her ex with. She was surprised and also excited on how he had fought for her honor.

"It's true, Penny. I would never take advantage of you or take you for granted." Leonard declared. He had demonstrated considerable courage against a formidable and overwhelming opponent.

"Even if another beautiful actress moved into the apartment building?" she questioned him with a semi-hurt look on her face.

He smiled and chuckled a bit. "Not even if the entire household of America's Next Top Model were to move in!" he declared.

"Oh, stop it!" she slapped at his arm.

"No really, I'll just send Wolowitz after them and they'll move right on out!" he added.

Penny laughed harder and looked at him with admiration and love.

_I truly love you Leonard Hofstadter!_

After a moment, Leonard decided that this was it, the time was right for declaring his feelings for her. Although a bit nervous, he had already passed the stress test tonight.

He turned to her and looked at her and put the palm of his left hand on her right cheek. She stopped and looked back at him. His touch felt so wonderful. Her skin felt like silk. Both their heartbeats increased.

"Penny, I will never take you for granted. You're everything to me. Not a moment goes by any day since I've met you that I don't think about you. You're my first and last thought of the day. I want to be with you and care for you. I don't know what will happen in the future but I do know that right here right now. I love you. I always have!" He finally declared it as Penny's eyes began filling with tears at his comments.

"Oh, Leonard, you're always in my thoughts also. I was afraid to tell you how I felt because I was afraid you wouldn't want me. But I love you right back." She replied and started to cry.

"I've been scared most of my life. Do you know how terrified of telling you that I love you I have been?" Leonard continued "I've feared that my life would be over if you said that you didn't love me or want me either. But now I can't describe how happy you made me. I have Cyrano to thank for that. It made me realize that I definitely didn't want to spend my last moments regretting not ever telling you how I felt about you."

Now, her body trembled at how sweet and forthright he was about her. Then, he leaned into her, tilting his head slightly he joined his lips to her and they kissed. Their minds were on fire and everything else did not exist.

"Hey guys! Get a room!" A man in the booth across the aisle from them shouted out.

Startled at first, Penny and Leonard looked up, interrupting their kiss.

"Way to go man! Fight off the villain, win the girl, yeah!" he applauded. As if on cue the rest of the patrons joined in with zestful applause and a few whistles to boot!

"Wow! If I had known we'd get this much audience reaction, I would have told you sooner!" Leonard told Penny. She laughed and wiped away her joyful tears. He laughed along with her.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" A cry from the surrounding patrons went up.

Once again, Leonard and Penny turned to each other and gave each other a soft, long lasting kiss that enthralled their supporters. A bigger cheer went up mixed in with some utterances of "Aww!"

They finished and their heads came together into a gentle touch. As the cheers died down, Leonard asked Penny: "So what do you want to eat for dinner!"

She leaned into him and putting her mouth close to his head.

"I think I'll have you!" She whispered in his ear. His mind and body shuddered, his stomach felt queasy at the thought of having coitus with Penny.

"And you can be my dessert!" He whispered back. She was surprised and exhilarated at his newly found panache. They both smiled.

Leslie, their waitress came by and stood next to them.

"So you two lovebirds ready to order?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Yes I believe we are!" replied Leonard as he wrapped his arm around Penny while she buried her chin on his shoulder.


	9. Up On The Roof

Staying all the way until the closing of the restaurant, Penny and Leonard returned to her car and took off for Pasadena. The traffic was light but like New York, Los Angeles was also a city that never slept. It didn't matter what time of day or night, there were always cars on the roads. Their ride back had been mostly nice but pleasant as they held hands nearly all the way home.

It was nearly 1:00 in the morning when they arrived back at their apartment building. As they made their way up the stairs and were ready to say goodnight to each other, a thought struck Leonard. Did their apartment building have roof access?

"We have roof access, don't we?" Leonard asked Penny.

"Oh, please don't remind me! I almost fell to my death last year when you bought that time machine of yours, remember?" Penny shot back.

"Oh yeah, right." Leonard said as he had nearly forgotten the time that he and the guys blocked the stairwell with the time machine he had won in an online auction, forcing Penny, who was already late for work to climb up to the roof, jump across to the other building. Then, because the other building's roof door was locked, she had to climb down the fire escape that ended outside the window of an Armenian Family who insisted she stay for lunch and tried fix her up with their son. Penny had missed a day of work and was extremely upset and called all of them "pathetic". Leonard felt so out guilty and hurt that he had nearly sold his comic book and action figures collection as a result.

"Would you like to go up to the roof and look at what little of the stars we can see in an urban setting?" he asked her.

"Right now, sweetie, I'm tired and it's been a long, albeit great night!" she replied as she covered up a yawn.

"Just for ten minutes, please!" he pleaded with her.

"Okay, but just ten minutes. I've got to work tomorrow." She stated.

_What on earth could have come over Leonard that wants him to go up to the roof at this time of night?_

Making their way up to the apartment building's roof took just a minute. Leonard seemed to pull Penny up until they stood on what would be the building's sixth floor. They were able to overlook much of Pasadena and they were able to gaze up and see quite a few stars twinkling in the early morning sky.

As Penny stood there, Leonard came up behind her and made put his arms around her and hugged her softly. He took in the smell of her hair and body which still drifted in the air around her. He felt alive and finally part of something greater than just himself. She pulled his arms softly into her torso and turned her head to plant him a soft kiss on the cheek. She was content and safe and secure in his arms. It seemed so funny and sad that they had both dreaded admitting that they loved each other.

"You know, Penny, I think the biggest single thing that I am scared of more than anything, more than admitting how I felt about you?" Leonard admitted.

"What's that sweetie?" Penny closed her eyes to take in the final minutes before falling asleep.

"I am scared of the future. Don't get me wrong, I've imagined this moment in my head countless times with you and doing it for the rest of my life. But the thing that scares me is that I'll do something or something will happen that will cut it short and I'll lose what I've dreamt about having my whole life – the companionship of the woman I love and adore." He stated.

"Leonard". Penny spun around to face him and calm his fears.

"Look how far we've come. Tomorrow may never happen, let's just enjoy what we have now. If tomorrow comes we'll enjoy each other once more. And if the next week, month, year and decade do arrive, let's just make sure that we've lived each day to the best of our ability in making each other happy, cherishing every moment together. Let's just take it one day at a time. I love you and that won't change" She concluded.

As he took in her words, his fears were calmed to a degree, but hearing her tender words gave him much hope for the future.

"I love you too, Penny." He kissed her once again. She pulled him closer and drew his mouth to hers, giving off a gentle moan as they shared in each other's breaths.

She then slowly turned around and let his arms slide over hers and back around her waist. They looked up at the sky and Leonard pointed up to the constellations, or at least where he knew them to be since it was hard to make some of them out with the glare of the city's lights.

_One day at a time._ Leonard thought. _One day at a time._

A few minutes later, he walked Penny to her apartment door.

"Well, good night. Thanks for the play. I really enjoyed it." He exclaimed with a smile.

"Thanks for dinner." She responded.

"I still owe you one, since you paid for the tickets and we got our meal for free. Remember to take me up on the offer." He reminded her.

"I will. Well, goodnight to you too. Sleep well Cyrano." She kissed him once again.

"You too, my Roxane." Leonard replied in keeping with the theme of the evening. He reached over to her hands taking both of them in his, he gently kissed each one.

_It feels so good and so right._ She thought as he put down her hands by her side.

Opening the door, she gently entered and turned around and gave him an approving look.

Within a few minutes she fell asleep, her last thought was of Leonard.

At the same time, he walked into the apartment. Gently he took off his shoes and walked gingerly to his bedroom, hoping not to wake up Sheldon. Before he could get into his bedroom, the hallway light flashed on and Sheldon stood behind him.

"Oh, geez, Sheldon, you scared me!" Leonard exclaimed.

"Do you know what time it is?" He asked with a tone of consternation.

"Yes, I do and so do you. I'm going to bed." Leonard replied.

"Well?" Sheldon asked, hoping for an answer to his unstated question of how the date went.

"We're not getting a cat. Relax and good night!" Leonard closed the door behind him.

"Thank goodness!" Sheldon said out loud to himself. He then retired to his bedroom.

Getting into bed, Leonard pictured one last time how far he had come in two years and the gigantic leap in his relationship with Penny in just over a week. They still had a long way to go but then he remembered Penny's words and as he fell into a much needed night's rest, he murmured: "One day at a time, Leonard. One day at a time."

"_**Cyrano: And what is a kiss, specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb "to love." A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear, infinity captured in the bee's brief visit to a flower, secular communication with an aftertaste of heaven, the pulse rising from the heart to utter its name on a lover's lip: 'Forever.'" Act 3, pg. 97 – Edmond Rostand**_

_Thanks in advance for the reviews and your respective L/P stories, qwerty, keaneplay, harrisbobariss, maybeshescrazy and cielfairy. Keep the Leonard/Penny fanfiction story movement going! __ Take care all! _


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